1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method, system and program product for controlling web content usage. Specifically, under the present invention, a control tag is attached to web content at a content source to limit use of the web content on a portal page.
2. Related Art
As computer technology continues to advance, computer users are increasingly turning to the World Wide Web for information. To this extent, web portal pages have become an increasingly popular means of delivering aggregated, personalized content to computer users. As known in the art, a portal page includes sections or “visual portlets” that each contain particular web content formatted according to a user's preferences. For example, a user could establish a personalized portal page (e.g., MY.YAHOO.COM) that has sections for news, weather, sports, etc. Typically, a portal page is rendered and delivered to a user from a portal server. A portal program such as WebSphere Portal Server, which is commercially available from International Business Machines Corp. of Armonk, N.Y. is loaded on the portal server to obtain web content from a content source. Once obtained, the portal program will aggregate the web content into a portal page according to the user's preferences. One popular method of obtaining web content from a content source is known as “web clipping.” In general, web clipping allows sections of web content to be clipped from a larger body of web content. For example, if a content source has a news article that includes both a bar graph and a textual description, a web clipper within the portal program could allow the bar graph to be clipped from the news article separate from the textual description. Once clipped, the bar graph could be included on the portal page.
One problem with current portal technology is the lack of control a content source can exhibit over use of web content on a portal page. For example, a content source could prefer that the textual description accompany the bar graph so that none of the information is taken out of context. Alternatively, a content source could prefer that a copyright or other legal notice accompany any web content that is clipped. Still yet, a content source could have a set of policies that limits the clipping of web content (e.g., adult material, etc.). In all of these instances, the content sources must rely on the portal server (or administrators thereof) to ensure that such preferences are adhered to. Specifically, there is currently no mechanism for the content sources to effectively control the use of their web content.
In view of the foregoing, there exists a need for a method, system and program product for controlling web content usage. Specifically, a need exists for a system that allows a content source to attach a control tag to web content. A further need exists for a control tag that prevents web content from being used on a portal page. Still yet, a need exists for a control tag that causes multiple sections of web content to be used together on a portal page.